Hanukkah Menorah to be lit on Taunton Green Dec. 1

Staff reports

Tuesday

Nov 30, 2010 at 12:01 AMNov 30, 2010 at 12:19 PM

On Wednesday, Dec. 1 at 4:15 PM on Taunton Green, Rabbi/Cantor Anne Heath will lead Congregation Agudath Achim and the Greater Taunton Jewish Community in the lighting of the Hanukkah Menorah. All are welcome to this brief ceremony of Hanukkah blessings and songs.

On Wednesday, Dec. 1 at 4:15 PM on Taunton Green, Rabbi/Cantor Anne Heath will lead Congregation Agudath Achim and the Greater Taunton Jewish Community in the lighting of the Hanukkah Menorah. All are welcome to this brief ceremony of Hanukkah blessings and songs.

The Jewish holiday of Hanukkah—The Festival of Lights—begins Dec. 1 at sundown and continues for eight days. Once thought of as a minor holiday, Hanukkah has grown in importance over the centuries.

Begun as a celebration of the Jewish victory over the Syrian Greeks in 164 BCE with the purging of the Temple in Jerusalem of paganism, Hanukkah has expanded into a Festival of Freedom.

Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary fame, wrote a stirring song entitled “Light One Candle” whose lyrics include this sentiment: “light one candle for the terrible sacrifice justice and freedom demand, but light one candle for the wisdom to know when the peacemaker’s time is at hand.” The chorus encourages all: “don’t let the light go out, it’s lasted for so many years, don’t let the light go out, let it shine through our love and our tears.”

Jews are encouraged to publicize the ancient miracle of one small container of a day’s worth of oil that burned for eight days during the rededication of the Temple by lighting an eight-branched Hanukkah menorah and placing it in their windows for all to see. The taller, ninth light of the Hanukkah menorah is the Shamash or guide light which is used to kindle the other flames – from one on the first night to all eight on the last night.

Heath said that Congregation Agudath Achim—nearing its centennial celebration—appreciates the support of the City of Taunton in including a public display of the Hanukkah menorah for all Jewish citizens of the area as well as for all who find its lights to be a reminder of the challenges of freedom in our personal and communal lives.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.